Cottage Grove promotes Jordan Johnson to head football coach

Thursday

COTTAGE GROVE — Jordan Johnson has a surname synonymous with high school football in Oregon and a coaching pedigree that dates back a couple of generations.

Now he has his own program.

Johnson, 26, has been named the head football coach at Cottage Grove, promoted from defensive coordinator to replace Gary Roberts, who retired in January after 11 years.

“Gary did a pretty good the last 10 years or so laying the foundation,” Johnson said. “Hopefully I can just keep it going.”

Johnson is the son of former Sheldon coach Marty Johnson, who won 137 games, nine league titles and three state titles during a 14-year career with the Irish. Jordan Johnson was the starting quarterback during the championship seasons of 2007 and 2009.

Jordan Johnson’s uncle Lane Johnson took over at Sheldon in 2012, and went 66-10 and helped the Irish win another state title before retiring after the 2016 season.

Jordan Johnson’s grandfather John was a longtime coach at Marshfield and also an assistant at Sheldon beginning when Marty Johnson took the job.

“I don’t feel like I have to have as much success as my dad had,” said Jordan Johnson, who is also a math teacher at Cottage Grove. “For me and for all of us it’s always been about the kids and putting the kids in the best position and then the winning takes care of itself.”

Roberts, a longtime assistant at Sheldon, added Jordan Johnson to his staff in 2016 and made him defensive coordinator in 2017.

Roberts also coaxed his old mentor, Marty Johnson, out of retirement to be the offensive coordinator the past three seasons. He’ll remain on his son’s staff.

That group helped the Lions go 29-5 the last three seasons and win the 4A state title in 2017. The Lions also played for the state title in 2016, losing to North Bend.

“We had a transition in mind a few years ago when we brought in Jordon that if he wanted the opportunity it would probably be there,” said Roberts, who remains the athletic director at Cottage Grove and is also a vice principal at the school. “We knew the guy that we wanted. He’s been such an important part to what we’ve done the last three years. It was really a no-brainer.”

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